Yesterday we traveled to Sinazongwe again. This time to make the final preparations for a team that is coming from the states to help us in establishing new work in this area. The team will do prayer walking, Bible storying, survey work, and evangelism. Our purpose is to see where God is at work in planting new churches.
When we went to this area last time, we discovered that there are already many churches in this area already. We went home wondering if we should go to this area or look for another. But, the Lord had laid this area on our hearts, and so we prayed earnestly that the Lord would give us direction.
We spent the first part of the day in a village called Sinazeze, about 17km from Sinazongwe. We surveyed the area, mapping out where we would like to do our prayer walking with the team. While there, we made the decision not to host a crusade during this team ministry, but to wait until we see where exactly God is working.
We then proceeded to Sinazongwe, to talk to the police, and inform them that we would wait to host the Jesus Film, but would still be coming to work in their area. The officer in charge was out, but the inspector was in, the same man we had met with when we came earlier. Nothing is an accident in God’s plan. We had given the inspector a booklet to read about how to have eternal life. On the front of the booklet is a question, “If you were to die today, do you know for certain that you would go to heaven?” After informing him that we were going to wait to show the Jesus Film, he picked up the booklet and said, “This question on the front of this booklet has been boiling in my heart since you left.”
For the next few minutes, we shared the gospel with the officer, and another man who was sitting there. We gave them both the opportunity to make a decision to follow Christ. The inspector said, “I believe I want to do this today. I am ready to pray and ask the Lord to be my Savior.” As he was praying, and even afterwards, tears were pouring from his eyes. Is this unusual in Zambia? VERY!! We have never before seen a Zambian man cry over the things of God.
We left Sinazongwe knowing that the Lord is at work. Although there are churches already in the area, God still has a work for us to do.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Monday, June 16, 2008
A Visit to the Chief
We are new at this, so excuse us if we stumble through our first blog posting. Hopefully, you have read our profile, so we won't go into who we are and what we do in Zambia. Instead, we will let you jump into our lives with a story of what has happened most recently in our adventures in Zambia.
Last week we went to survey a new area where we are planning to begin new work. Having lived in Zambia for 10 years now, we know that it is wise to visit the chief of the area where you wish to work. This is nothing new to us, but we still tremble with the thought of making cultural mistakes.
The night before heading to this new area, one of our church members in our home village told us he was "somehow" related to the chief. He told us it would be best if we would call ahead and make an appointment. He then gave us a contact number, and told us that it belonged to David. Wes made the call, and David agree that we should meet the chief at 2:00.
The following day, we made our way to the new area mid morning, in order to have time to look around. At 2:00 promptly, we arrived at the chief's palace. Amazingly, he was ready to see us. You must understand, in Zambia, time is not an issue. We had a good meeting, sharing with him our plans. He welcomed us to his area and wrote a letter stating that we could travel and work freely throughout his area.
Time passed, and we were ready to go. The chief told us to call if we needed anything, handing us a piece of paper with several names. He called Wes to his desk and showed him the names, pointing out that the first name was his. To Wes' surprise, the chief was none other than "David." Embarrassed for having called the chief by his first name, Wes humbly apologized. The chief just smiled and said, "It's alright, my name is not Chief, it is David, and I like my first name." Although we both felt relieved, we once again knew that we had made a cultural mistake. But, being foreigners who didn't know any better, we were excused.
Last week we went to survey a new area where we are planning to begin new work. Having lived in Zambia for 10 years now, we know that it is wise to visit the chief of the area where you wish to work. This is nothing new to us, but we still tremble with the thought of making cultural mistakes.
The night before heading to this new area, one of our church members in our home village told us he was "somehow" related to the chief. He told us it would be best if we would call ahead and make an appointment. He then gave us a contact number, and told us that it belonged to David. Wes made the call, and David agree that we should meet the chief at 2:00.
The following day, we made our way to the new area mid morning, in order to have time to look around. At 2:00 promptly, we arrived at the chief's palace. Amazingly, he was ready to see us. You must understand, in Zambia, time is not an issue. We had a good meeting, sharing with him our plans. He welcomed us to his area and wrote a letter stating that we could travel and work freely throughout his area.
Time passed, and we were ready to go. The chief told us to call if we needed anything, handing us a piece of paper with several names. He called Wes to his desk and showed him the names, pointing out that the first name was his. To Wes' surprise, the chief was none other than "David." Embarrassed for having called the chief by his first name, Wes humbly apologized. The chief just smiled and said, "It's alright, my name is not Chief, it is David, and I like my first name." Although we both felt relieved, we once again knew that we had made a cultural mistake. But, being foreigners who didn't know any better, we were excused.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
